Rear Suspension and Display Issue 92 735il

[Nels Ferre]

Hi All,

I just found this forum. Looks really great!

I am writing because my wife's 92 735il has an issue that I can't seem to remedy. The self leveling rear suspension went out recently, leaking power steering fluid all over the garage floor, and the power steering went out as well. There was no warning at all from the diagnostic display on the dash.

I had the car towed to my mechanic, and he said one of the rear struts was leaking. The estimate was $1100 in parts plus labor to replace both struts. I have bought parts for both cars from Bavarian Autosport and remembered they sell a kit that replaces the hyraulic struts with a non hydraulic coil over shocks at a much lower cost. I had my mechanic do the work and change the oil ($730 parts and labor.)

Now, the diagnostic display under in the instrument cluster displays "Suspension Leveling", and wont display anything else. If there was something else going on the car, my wife would never know until she broke down.

I asked both my mechanic and Bavarian Autosport what to do to fix this and they said to take it to the local dealer to reprogram the computer. I am trying to avoid this because the local dealer will charge big bucks.

I tried disconeecting the battery to clear any faults out of the computer, but the problem remains.

Any help is appreciated.

Nels Ferré
89 BMW 325is
92 BMW 735il

[libertylover]

Couple of things in Bentley that might help:
1) "The camber warning switch is used to monitor suspension loading via the instrument cluster and Check Control. If the rear axle is loaded beyond the regulating limit of the LAD (self leveling system), the warning SUSPN LEVELLING will be displayed. The camber switch is mounted on the rear axle subframe." Look at that.
2) Also, under "Converting LAD to standard..." It shows a diagram of the center arm on regulator valve. It says to install a 1/8" cotter pin through lever and into valve body to lock the regulator valve in the closed position.
Hope this helps.